On January 27, 2025, Arcadia Land Company and Realen Properties presented a proposal for developing 130 acres surrounding Promenade Saucon Valley to the Upper Saucon Township Board of Supervisors at a public meeting. The proposal outlines concepts for creating Promenade Park, a new walkable residential and recreational neighborhood that would connect the existing corporate, health care, institutional, and retail facilities north of Center Valley Parkway.
The development seeks to connect Stabler Corporate Center and Promenade Saucon Valley in the Stabler Pathways development and create a modern town center for the Saucon Valley area. The proposed neighborhood would build on the original vision of Stabler Center by bringing customers, employees, and residents together, within walking distance. The plans are consistent with both the 2020 Upper Saucon Township Comprehensive Plan and The Lehigh Valley Comprehensive Plan (LVCP) which call for the creation of a developed town center.
According to the Promenade Park website, “The heart of Promenade Park will be an extensive public park and trail system incorporating Lake Thomas, a farmer’s market green, a public dog run, and a mile-long walking and biking trail. New housing options suitable for young professionals, seniors, and empty nesters along with a major office building, hotel, and other commercial uses will make it possible to live, work, shop, and enjoy the outdoors… within walking distance.”.
Arcadia Land Company and Realen Properties
Lehigh signed a master development agreement with the Philadelphia-based Arcadia Land Company and Realen Properties in 2024.
“We selected the team of Arcadia Land Company and Realen Properties because of their commitment to smart growth and because of their approach to land stewardship and building innovative, walkable communities,” said Mark Ironside, Associate Vice President for Auxiliary Services and President of LU Properties, LLC.
Arcadia and Realen are well suited to advance the vision of Stabler Pathways as a connected community for living, learning, and working in the heart of Pennsylvania’s thriving Lehigh Valley region. The Philadelphia-based partnership will plan the development and seek projects that will enhance the area through job creation, amenities, services, and meeting the region’s housing needs. Arcadia and Realen will work to ensure the development aligns with the Upper Saucon Township’s sustainability goals and comprehensive plan.
The development projects will be selected to support the region and complement the other existing businesses, organizations, and amenities that are already a part of Stabler Pathways, which currently includes The Promenade Shops, Olympus Corporation of the Americas, Penn State University Lehigh Valley, Swim-In Zone, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Springhill Suites by Marriott, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital, and a myriad of other companies.
“Promenade Park represents the single-best opportunity in the Lehigh Valley to create a modern walkable town center. Nearly all the ingredients are there — leading employers, shopping, dining, healthcare and education — but they exist as islands. What’s missing is the connective tissue — a public park system, housing options ideal for empty nesters, seniors and young professionals, commercial amenities, and trails and sidewalks linking all the elements. And with extraordinary natural features like Lake Thomas woven into the site plan, Promenade Park will be a welcome addition to the township and the crown jewel in Arcadia’s portfolio of walkable communities,” said Jason Duckworth, President of Arcadia Land Company.
Stabler Pathways, A Connected Community with a Long and Storied History
Stabler Pathways is a unique and vibrant multi-faceted community located in the heart of the Lehigh Valley between Route I-78 and the picturesque slopes of South Mountain in Center Valley. It was gifted to Lehigh University in 2012 by the Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation in the form of 755 acres of land in Upper Saucon Township, one of the most generous gifts in Lehigh’s history. Don Stabler, a Lehigh University trustee, benefactor, and alumnus, was one of Pennsylvania’s most prominent developers and philanthropists. He established the Stabler Land Company in the late 1980s (now known as Stabler Pathways). The gift of land from the estate, which included an additional gift of $1 million in scholarships, extended the Stabler legacy and highlighted Stabler’s positive impact on the university and the region. Lehigh aims to honor the Stabler legacy by stewarding the land, cultivating opportunities for Lehigh students, and expanding upon Stabler’s vision to make Stabler Pathways an economic engine for the Lehigh Valley.
Lehigh’s connection to the land that comprises Stabler Pathways has a long and storied history beginning in the 1800s and continuing today.
William Theodore Roepper was a local chemist who determined in 1845 that the farm of Jacob Ueberroth in Friedensville (which is now located within Stabler Pathways) was rich in zinc ore. Roepper later became one of the first five original faculty at Lehigh.
Miles Rock, a civil engineer who was one of five men who comprised Lehigh’s first graduating class in 1896, frequented the same zinc mine Roepper identified to conduct survey work. As noted in Rock’s field journals, he walked weekly from the Asa Packer Campus to the Friedensville Zinc Mine in Center Valley, Pennsylvania along with Henry Sturgis Drinker, Lehigh’s fifth president. Such connections between Lehigh and Stabler Pathways continued throughout the 20th century and are still being discovered today, at times in unexpected ways.
Public & Community Engagement Opportunities
Realen and Arcadia have planned community outreach sessions. Join the email list and look to Promenade Park for more information and opportunities for engagement.
To stay updated on all the latest news regarding this exciting development, visit www.stablerpathways.com/resources.
About Realen Properties
Realen provides innovative, high-quality environments for homeowners, apartment residents, office workers, and shoppers alike; embracing the principles of smart growth, infill development, and brownfield remediation. Realen has recently generated notable attention for its master development of suburban, mixed-use, epicenters. The Village at Valley Forge has received critical acclaim for its walkable community design, and “live-work-play” atmosphere. It illustrates Realen’s commitment to curb suburban sprawl, preserve our precious open spaces, and create responsible and sustainable developments.
About Arcadia Land Company
Arcadia develops walkable communities in harmony with nature. They believe compact, walkable neighborhoods promote human flourishing and environmental conservation. Their apartments, walkable residential communities, and mixed-use developments are located primarily in suburban Philadelphia.
About Stabler Pathways
Stabler Pathways is an innovative and vibrant connected community built for living, learning, working, and healing. Located in the heart of Pennsylvania’s thriving Lehigh Valley region, Stabler Pathways is a place where business, social, and academic paths intersect in exciting ways.